by MTHULISI SIBANDAJOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE South African mining industry is undergoing an extensive transformation amid the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) taking root in what is among the major sectors of the continent’s most advanced economy.

Mining forms the backbone of the South African economy and is responsible for a third of the country’s commodity exports.

It is indirectly responsible for employment in associated industries, through its vast supply chain.

“The industry that everybody currently knows will be unrecognizable in five to seven years,” said Tony O’Neill, Technical Director at Anglo American.

He was speaking ahead of the first 4IR in Mining Seminar in South Africa.

The event is scheduled for the Gauteng Province on May 31.

Baletsema Mining Services, in partnership with BotsZa, are organising the conference.

“We look forward to welcoming powerful industry minds to our panel as well as significant stakeholders in the mining value chain, to not only drive a conversation at the seminar, but allow the audience to leave the room with some knowledge of what the future of mining looks like and action points that can be taken to ensure that the 4IR transition in the industry is as smooth as possible,” said Bokang Kelepa, Baletsema Mining Services Managing Director.

Officially opening the Invest in African Mining Indaba in February, Mineral Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe, spoke about the Mining Charter III and its requirement for locally produced mining goods and services.

“This requirement provides South African mining technology companies with the opportunity to contribute immensely to the integration of the fourth industrial revolution in mining and will hopefully boost entrepreneurship in this regard,” Mantashe said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNa) highlighted the importance of South Africa adapting to change and embracing 4IR.

He mentioned the appointment of a Presidential Commission on the 4IR, whose 30 members were announced earlier this month.

“As government plays its role in creating an environment in which mining thrives for the benefit of all our people, we urge the industry to take advantage of the technological advances underpinning the fourth industrial revolution,” Ramaphosa said.

Although Africa is responsible for merely 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 65 percent of the continent’s 1,3 billion people are directly impacted by climate change

from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, KenyaNAIROBI, (CAJ News) – WHILE Africa is responsible for merely 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 65 percent of the continent’s estimated population of 1,3 billion people is considered to be directly impacted by climate change.

It is against the backdrop of this irony that global leaders,
entrepreneurs, international organizations, and civil society meet in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Thursday next week to help accelerate focus and attention on climate investments in line with the Paris Agreement objectives.

The stakeholders will meet under the auspices of the One Planet Summit (OPS), which also focuses on promoting renewable energies, fostering resilience and adaptation and protecting biodiversity in the continent.

“OPS, which is in its third edition, is the French initiative to engage
states and global ministers to implement climate policies,” said Mr
Lõhmus. Nairobi will be the first first regional host of the OPS.

French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as World Bank Group Interim President Kristalina Georgieva and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, will co-chair the conference, which will be among the highlights will co-chair the conference, which will be among the highlights of the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) running from March 11-15.

Ado Lohmus, a UNEA special envoy, this week confirmed Macron will be in the East African country next week.

“On the 14th, he (Macron) will open the OPS, which will also be meeting here in Kenya alongside UNEA,” Lohmus said in Nairobi this week.

More than 2 000 delegates from around the world have registered to attend UNEA-4 and are to be a key part of OPS proceedings.

OPS is one in a series of some climate events this year leading up to the UN 2019 Climate Summit and to the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In December 2018, the World Bank Group announced a major new set of climate targets for 2021-2025, doubling its current 5-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take ambitious climate action.

The new plan significantly boosts support for adaptation and resilience, recognizing mounting climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods, especially in the world’s poorest countries. The plan also represents significantly ramped up ambition from the World Bank Group, sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same.

Ahead of the OPS, Kenya government officials assured preparations for the OPS were progressing well, with the country having previously held international events of this nature.

OPS is held following the realization that resources and solutions for
renewable energy already exist in Africa but there is a need to speed
their financing and mainstream their development.

Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’s Ambassador to France, and French State Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Brune Poirson, recently held meetings to finalise plans for the OPS and UNEA-4.

Macron has previously spoken of his government’s goal to be a strategic partner to Africa in the field of climate change adaptation.

France is the largest financial contributor to the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), alongside Germany and followed by the Council of the European Union.

At the Africa-France Summit held in Mali in 2017, the French president announced that financing for renewable energy in Africa would be increased from €2 billion to €3 billion, implemented by the Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) over the 2016-2020 period.

“Africa, from the shores of Lake Chad to the Congo Basin, is being hardest hit by the effects of climate change but it can also be at the forefront of solutions. It can succeed where Europe has not always been able to,” Macron prominently said during a state visit to Burkina Faso in late 2017.

This week, the World Bank, a partner for the OPS, stated cities in
Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nairobi, could inform global action on climate change.

Nairobi already has a strong private sector presence as the eighth most attractive city in Africa for foreign direct investment, according to the global institution.

“As such, it can share important lessons learned with other cities in the region and around the world. The One Planet Summit provides the perfect space to do just that by actively inviting new partners to collaborate and launch new initiatives,” the World Bank stated.

by SAVIOUS KWINIKAJOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THERE are differences within South Africa’s tripartite alliance following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of plans to privatise state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Despite some of these parastatals plagued by corruption and
under-performance, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), opposed the privatisation plans arguing this would result in job losses.

COSATU was reacting to Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, during which the president announced the unbundling of power utility Eskom into three divisions comprising Generation, Transmission and Distribution.

“It is clear that the only solution by the government is to punish the
real victims of corruption in the SOE’s, the workers,” COSATU spokesman, Sizwe Pamla told CAJ News Africa.

“We want to make it very clear that we will oppose any privatisation of strategic assets like Eskom. We have a clear and unambiguous position on the issue of privatisation of state assets,” Pamla added.

He said the federation would rather encourage “engagement” with regard to the restructuring of Eskom.

“There is no just-transition that can be rushed. We will flatly reject any solution or policy that will be unilaterally imposed and that will bring more misery to the already struggling workers,” Pamla said.

COSATU is a member of the tripartite alliance alongside the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP).

Delivering the annual SONA, Ramaphosa, said the unbundling of Eskom would bring credibility to the turnaround and to position South Africa’s power sector for the future.

The president insisted this would isolate costs to each entity and enable Eskom raise funding easily from the markets.

“It is imperative that we undertake these measures without delay to
stabilise Eskom’s finances, ensure security of electricity supply and
establish the basis for long-term sustainability,” Ramaphosa said.

Eskom has a total debt burden of R420 billion.

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) stated Ramaphosa offered stern words of warning if the failing operational and financial health of the utility was left unchecked.

“The government is acutely aware that Eskom’s instability poses a risk to the country and decisive actions cannot be delayed,” the firm stated.

South Africa will have to wait until the Budget Speech on February 20 for details around Eskom but the government will support the company’s balance sheet.

“It is to be done without burdening the fiscus with unmanageable debt, while considering both the impact on the sovereign rating to the rights and obligations of funders,” RMB commented.

from TRACEY IRVING in Washington, USAWASHINGTON, (CAJ News) – A KEY player from Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign is set to head the World Bank.

Mr Trump has selected US treasury official David Malpass for the role after the surprise resignation last month of bank president Jim Jong Kim.

As largest shareholder and the main funder, Washington’s choice for the job gets the nod, though in theory it’s up to the bank’s board.

The Korean-born Dr Kim was appointed by Barack Obama in 2012 and quickly imposed a ban on lending for projects using coal. In South Africa this decision hit the state-owned Eskom power monopoly which had to source funding elsewhere for its new plants, as did Botswana, India, China, Poland, Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines.

Last year, Dr Kim extended the rule to oil and gas, with implications for Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique and the Middle East.

Mr Malpass, who describes himself as a “free-market economist”, agrees with Trump that the US picks up too much of the bill for running the United Nations, NATO, and other institutions.

Once in charge, he would have the power to reign in a World Bank he claims has built up “mountains of debt without solving problems”.

Mr Malpass told a recent conference in Washington the bank had, “created an environment where their own growth ends up being as important as their clients’ growth.”

The bank’s biggest borrower is China, but Malpass said it made no sense lending to the world’s second-largest economy.

At the White House, press chief Sarah Sanders said Malpass would be, “a great choice,” describing him as “highly respected and a strong member of the team”.

Established in 1944, the bank’s mission was to rebuild Europe in wake of World War ll. The first loan went to France.

But this changed in the 1970s with more money to Asia, Africa and South America.

Lifting the ban on fossil fuel may be good news for Africa and especially India where power plants are undergoing the world’s largest conversion to clean coal, but if Malpass shrinks the overall size of the bank, it could make loans more difficult.

In Washington, Dr Sylvanus Ayeni is a retired neurosurgeon who has spent the past two decades travelling Africa and the US, lecturing on development. Born in Nigeria, he said the World Bank needed to focus on electricity, but warned against free money.

“Africans also have a right to electricity. Not a solar lamp hanging in a hut, but industrial power that can bring jobs and factories. The kind we enjoy in the USA.”

Aid, he said, was not the answer. “Since 1960, Washington alone has donated more than a trillion dollars to Africa with little result. Some hit the mark, much of it was wasted, and billions have been stolen.

“We need projects with proper goals and timelines that can run at a profit large enough to pay back a loan. And we need conditions attached to make sure the money benefits people on the ground instead of wealthy and corrupt politicians who have left Africa as the world’s poorest continent while growing rich in the process.”

In 2017, Dr Ayeni’s book “Rescue Thyself” sent waves through global agencies when he exposed the level of waste and theft linked to aid and loans in Africa.

He has also called for change at the World Bank.

“The US, Europe and China used coal, oil and gas to build economies that let them lead the world. Surely Africa has a right to the same, but doing it cleanly.” he said.

On 1 February Dr Kim handed authority to acting president Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, who also serves as CEO of the bank.

If approved by the board, Mr Malpass will assume control before Easter.

from ANDRZEJ KOWALCYK in Katowice, Poland KATOWICE, (CAJ News) – FOR 10 minutes, yesterday, protestors chanted and danced a conga around the room where a White House team was hosting its key event at the UN summit on climate change.

With cries of “Shame on you,” and “Keep it in the ground,” they waved banners and threatened to sue governments that continued using coal to generate electricity.

As they marched out, leaving close on half the chairs vacant, a queue of delegates outside who had been denied entry because the room was full quickly filled their seats.

The meeting in Katowice, southern Poland, was chaired by Wells Griffith, senior director for environment and energy on the White House Security Council.

While the media was allowed to cover the event, journalists were not
allowed to ask questions.

“The United States will not keep it in the ground,” Mr Wells said.

Instead, he said, “American innovation and entrepreneurship,” would work to reduce emissions from oil, gas and especially coal, allowing it to be used cleanly.

He also pledged to cooperate with other countries, including “India,
Australia, Poland and South Africa.”

Mr Wells echoed comments made last week at the Indian environment minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan

“It is true that India still has to use coal, but wherever we do it, we use the technology to burn it cleanly,” Dr Vardhan said.

“Coal is part of our shift to clean energy. And cleaner coal is being
researched all the time in our laboratories.”

But he said there was a need to share the technology. “This is a battle for the planet, not for any one country. Whether it’s better ways of using wind, solar, coal, oil or gas, we have a duty to share our discoveries if they help reduce climate change.”

In Katowice, Australia’s ambassador for the environment, Patrick Suckling, was on the White House panel and spoke of his country’s need to continue using coal, but to do it cleanly with new technology and the capture of any toxic gas.

South Africa and Botswana get a majority of their electricity from coal, with new plants underway in Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Across Africa, an estimated 600 million people live without access to the grid.

Aid groups have helped by distributing solar lights, but baseload power to run industry is still in short supply. South Africa is currently in the grip of black-outs as state utility Eskom struggle to cope with demand.

Australia’s resources minister, Senator Matt Canavan, an outspoken
supporter of the mining sector, in on record saying coal, “will be used for decades to come,” and that clean coal was, “a way to lower carbon emission”.

Canberra, he said, was “keen to work with other nations on clean-coal technology”.

At Wits University in Johannesburg, an African team led by retired
professor Rosemary Falcon has developed world-leading technology on clean fossil fuel.

At Wits the coal is powdered, and harmful elements extracted after which it is burned with green bamboo to lower emissions.

The UN meeting in Katowice is meant to build a common set of rules by which all countries will reduce their release of carbon dioxide and other gases that may contribute to a rise in temperature around the globe.

The original Paris Accord on climate change, signed by a majority of
countries including most in Africa, called for a fund of $100bn per year to help poor countries adapt their economies. This was one reason cited by President Donald Trump for pulling the US out of the treaty and few donors have come forward to help.

Last work the World Bank announced $200bn to fund renewable energy, but new coal plants in Bangladesh, Philippines, Australia, India and across Africa have found no difficulty in raising finance, some of it from China.

“Countries, including the US, will continue to use fossil fuel to make sure they meet the needs of their citizens,” Mr Griffiths said.

“This is especially important to the almost 1bn people around the world who lack access to energy.”

from ANDRZEJ KOWALCYK in Katowice, Poland KATOWICE, (CAJ News) – It was never going to be easy holding a United Nations climate-change meeting in a country that gets 80 per cent of its energy from

Poland’s main source of energy – coal

coal and is planning more of the same.

The 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) to the Paris Accord on Climate Change opened in the southern Polish city of Katowice on Monday with confusion from the start.

A map of pavilions showed one for the United States, but when visitors went to the spot it was empty. The US negotiating team had no idea why their country was even listed among the displays. President Trump is in the process of withdrawing from the Accord.

Nigeria, Benin and Congo Brazzaville did have stands, but for much of the time there were no staff to run them.

French leader Emmanuel Macron was due here, but couldn’t leave Paris because of violent protest against his plan to increase a tax on fossil fuels. On Wednesday he agreed to scrap the hike, but a spokesman for the demonstrators said it was, “too little too late,” and the riots look set to continue.

The aim of COP24 is to set goals by which the almost 200 nations will reduce pollution in order to halt a rise in temperature across the planet. Chief among these, according to the UN, is a limit on oil, gas and especially coal.

But to the horror of green protestors, the president of Poland arrived to sign a “solidarity accord” with miners, confirming there would be no end to Polish coal any time soon.

Most African countries have a presence here, some with teams larger than wealthy nations.

John Owusu is a retired engineer originally from Ghana, but for 50 years he has worked across all regions of Africa.

“There’s a crisis of energy on our continent,” he said “More than 600 million people have no electricity but we have African countries with huge delegations, all staying in top hotels, and for what?”

He said a key to saving the environment was to stop the loss of forest across Asia and Africa.

“Where people have no other way to cook or heat their homes, they will use firewood,” he said. “We need electricity for Africa and we need it now. That’s where the money should be spent, not on flying to summits.”

The main US team will arrive on Monday to promote an alliance between countries who could share technology on how to use coal without putting off harmful emissions.

Australia, the US, India and South Africa are considered world leaders in the science.

Indian environment minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, a former ear, nose and throat surgeon said his work as a doctor left him “in no doubt” on the need for clean air.

But he also defended his country’s coal program, saying ultra-supercritical systems had changed the way it was used, reducing emissions to levels that allowed India to meet its obligations under the Paris deal.

And, he said, India “stands ready to share clean technology of all kinds,” with the world. “This is a battle for the planet, not for any one country,” he said.

South Africa, currently suffering prolonged power cuts, has a pavilion at COP 24 and minister Derek Hanekom is due to deliver an address on Monday. South Africa gets most of its energy from coal.

The World Bank announced it would spend $200bn over the next five years to help countries limit climate change though it will not fund projects using fossil fuel, a policy opposed by the US which is the banks largest donor.

But there was a light moment for the Zimbabwe delegation when they passed by the Polish stand to find a display marked, “Sadza Soap.”

In Zimbabwe’s Shona language, sadza is a stiff maize-meal porridge and the national dish. In Polish, it means soot or powdered coal.

The soap was displayed in glass cases surrounded by Polish coal.

Countries in the region are using oil, coal and nuclear power to lessen their dependence on Russian gas in wake of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

With winter temperatures falling below -20ºC, there is a fear President Vladimir Putin could freeze his neighbours into submission, simply by turning off the gas.

COP 24 will wrap up next week, but John Owusu said it reminded him of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC.

“OPEC ministers come together and pledge to reduce output in order to maintain a high price of oil. Then they go home and pump as much as they like.

“Sadly it’s the same thing here. Everyone wants cheap electricity and they’ll make it with whatever works best.”

He said at least the Polish president had been honest. “Wind and solar are growing, but coal will continue whether we like it or not.”

from AHMED MOOLA in Cairo, Egypt CAIRO, (CAJ News) – AS ports go, even sailors could struggle to find Hamrawein on the map.

This town on the Red Sea, 600 kilometres south-east of Cairo is dwarfed by other harbours on the route to Suez, but all that will change over the next six years as Egypt builds the world’s largest clean-coal plant.

A Chinese conglomerate beat the US General Electric and a Japanese firm for a $4.4bn project at Hamrawein that will generate close to seven gigawatts of power or 40 per cent more than South Africa’s new station at Medupi, and dwarfing output from the turbines on the Zambezi River at Lake Kariba.

“This will be the world’s most advanced ultra-supercritical clean-coal plant,” said Zou Lei who chairs the Dongfang Electric Corporation, one of the winning contractors. Chinese and Egyptian banks will provide the finance.

China, the United States and South Africa lead the world in clean-coal research, though many sites still use old-fashioned technology.
Critics say this is made worse by a World Bank decision not to fund
projects using fossil fuel.

Egypt’s notorious power black-outs were among a list of grievances
when, in 2011, crowds on Cairo’s Tahrir Square forced president Hosni Mubarak from power in one of several revolts known as the Arab Spring.

But the new government was unable to lift the output of kilowatts, and outages continued until, in 2014, parliament voted to overturn a ban on importing coal and, two years later, changed the law to allow
coal-fired electricity.

Within months, the government announced plans for the plant at
Hamrawein and invited tenders.

Use of coal is rising across the Middle East, with new generators
planned for Turkey, Israel, Iran and Jordan.

Dubai is building a 3.6 gigawatt ultra-supercritical plant as part of
its plan to reduce emissions between now and 2050. Poland has a
similar program.

But there’s a problem for the government in Cairo: Egypt has very little coal.

Ironically, a solution for Hamrawein was modeled on China’s great
rival, Taiwan, which currently has the world’s largest clean-coal
generator, but imports the fuel.

While Egypt develops its own mines, coal will be imported from South Africa and Indonesia, but the door is open for Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Botswana to win future contracts.

Tanzania has its own coal-powered generator near the Mozambique border while Kenya is building one near Lamu on the coast. Bangladesh, the Philippines and India are growing their capacity.

In Johannesburg, Prof. Rosemary Falcon who leads research at Wits
University, said Hamrawein would be the perfect place to show how
clean coal can help achieve the goal of lower emissions under the
Paris Accord.

“A country like Egypt, with nearly 100-million people, needs a lot of
base-load power that doesn’t go off,” Prof. Falcon said. “Wind and
solar are fine, but they only work when the wind blows or the sun
shines. And you need vast areas of land to house them.”

Coal, she said, had been a problem in the past because of pollution.
“Those days are thankfully behind us with the new clean technology. We can now burn it with close to zero emission and I look forward to
following the project in Egypt.”

In Africa, an estimated 600m people are not linked to the grid, but
Kenya, Botswana and Namibia have lifted connection rates over the past decade while, since 1994, South Africa has achieved close to 100 per cent access.

For centuries, locals in Hamrawein have watched the boats sailing past their town. Now ships will bring coal into port and more than 5000 jobs will be created in building the generators over a period of six years.

Life will be changed forever, but Prof. Falcon says Hamrawein is just
the beginning.

“Coal is by far the cheapest and most secure way to create a reliable
supply of current,” she said. “And Egyptians have as much right to
electricity as anyone else.

“This is something many in the developed world take for granted and, if there’s a sadness, it’s that turning on the lights across Africa
has taken so long.”

by GIFT NDOLWANEJOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AFTER years lying derelict owing to a snub by some governments in the region, the railway sector has bounced back as a key component of promoting intra-African trade, particularly in the Southern region.

The region has taken a lead in intra-continental trade, hence there is
excitement at the prospects offered by the 4 000-kilometre North South Rail Corridor running from southern mining district of Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the ports of Durban and Richards Bay in the southeastern KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa.

This project is touted as having potential to create economic
opportunities through its alignment to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) infrastructure development master plan and industrialisation strategy.

“The North South Corridor rail project has been endorsed by the highest policy makers in the region,” said Mapolao Mokoena, Director of Infrastructure Directorate in the SADC Secretariat.

The project has received a major boost after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between South African Heavy Haul Association (SAHHA) and the Southern African Railways Association (SARA).

The milestone marks the beginning of a collaboration for two organisations to work together in ensuring the revival of the technical chapter of the Southern African railway system.

SAHHA and SARA signed the MoU in Johannesburg recently to map a common view of the implications of technology in their businesses and more importantly, develop a common strategy to implement technology to be able to reap maximum benefits to the SADC region.

Operators in the region are excited with the agreement.

“The North South Corridor is a backbone of transport system into the hinterland and obviously back to the ports,” said Thembi Moyo, Chief Executive Officer of the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Rail Limited.

Lewis Mukwanda, CEO of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), said the rail transport, once rehabilitated and upgraded would offer a cost-effective solution such that regional exports would be competitive.

Over the years, the rail operators along the corridor have been making significant efforts to improve the railway service.

Ravi Nair, CEO of Transnet Freight Rail, said the company was committed to ensuring the success of the North South Corridor.

“From a capacity point of view, Transnet has made available locomotives and wagons available for the upgrade of the NRZ. At the moment, we are reinventing locomotives that we will make available for Zambian Railways upgrade,” Nair said.

Chairman of SARA Christopher Musonda, who is also CEO of Zambia Railways, said, “The the MOU is a milestone set to improve collaboration between operators in the region.”

– CAJ News

]]>http://cajnewsafrica.com/2018/09/24/sadc-rail-revival-spurs-intra-africa-trade/feed/0World at risk of a blackouthttp://cajnewsafrica.com/2018/08/25/world-at-risk-of-a-blackout/
http://cajnewsafrica.com/2018/08/25/world-at-risk-of-a-blackout/#commentsSat, 25 Aug 2018 04:20:55 +0000http://cajnewsafrica.com/?p=27825by SAVIOUS KWINIKAJOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – IT could bring devastation on a scale greater than war and close to a nuclear attack.

And Africa, India and developed countries like the United States of America (USA) and Germany are all in peril.

These are findings from the recent release of data on “energy risk” and what would happen if the power went off for days, weeks, even months.

Using a myriad of tables and numbers, the Global Energy Institute (GEI) in Washington — funded by the US Chamber of Commerce — puts Norway first in security with a stable grid, a moderate price for electricity and its own supplies of oil, gas and coal supplemented by small but growing amounts of
wind and solar.

The Ukraine is last among 25 of the world’s largest energy users, but South Africa is also near the bottom with a grid that “operates under severe constraints”. A small rise in demand sees the lights go off in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The study uses a wide range of factors. If, like Japan or South Korea, you rely on imported coal, then how far are your power plants from the port where ships unload that coal? And could the rail or road link be sabotaged?

Also, what price do consumers pay, and are the poor at risk, especially in countries with a long, cold winter?

Britain has plenty of energy but its biggest generator at Drax in North Yorkshire burns wood pellets imported from the America. A disruption to shipping would close it down. And Brits pay more for their kilowatts than most of Europe. Price has become an issue in the UK and especially Australia where it is set to be a major topic at next year’s election.

“It’s frightening to see how close we all live to the brink,” says Barry Worthington, executive director of the US Energy Association (USEA) in Washington.

“Whether you’re in Kenya or Kansas, a natural disaster or a terror attack that shuts off your power for a long period of time could lead to hundreds, even thousands of deaths. Industry would collapse, and schools, hospitals and government would cease to function unless there was a reliable contingency plan.”

The new report factors in risk from every source and shows a world continually on the brink of shutdown.

In Africa, more than 600 million people live without access to the grid. India has 300 million in darkness, and many in Bangladesh, the Philippines or Indonesia have yet to be connected.

But much of eastern and central Europe relies on gas from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to pressure from Moscow, especially in winter.

The US has boosted coal exports to Ukraine and other countries. And supplies of gas from Mozambique or coal from South Africa, Australia and Indonesia give buyers a choice as both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin play for dominance.

“Our work in Ukraine has been vital to that country’s independence,” Mr Worthington said. “But we still have a long way to go before it is anywhere near secure.”

For all the talk of wind and solar, coal is used in most nations that score well in the survey. But US secretary of state for energy, Rick Perry — who has long defended both coal and renewables — said it was about working in the cleanest way possible.

“No country should have to choose between developing its energy and economy and caring for the environment,” he said. “When we embrace innovation over regulation, we can do both.”

Perry pointed to a 90 per cent fall in pollutants from fossil-fuel in the US over the past 30 years.

Visiting a clean-coal site in North Dakota this week, he said Washington was ready to share the know-how.

“Not only do we need to innovate here in the United States, but it’s important to make our cleaner, more efficient technology available to other countries as well,” he said.

The composition of coal differs around the world making local research vital, and Perry and other officials have mooted a clean-coal alliance of countries working on a better burn. Informal talks are known to have taken place with Australia, India and Poland among others.

Nigerian academic Dr Samson Bada said the US should put Africa high on the list for any such group.

“Look at countries that are growing their output, and it’s often with coal,” he said. “Kenya has its first plant underway, Tanzania already has one near the border with Mozambique, and Egypt is building a huge clean-coal unit.”

Dr Bada who has worked both on coal and renewables and is a council member of South Africa’s Fossil Fuel Foundation said Africa had much to share.

“I think Europe, Australia and the US can often fall into the trap of seeing this a science that belongs in the developed world. But some of the best research is being done right here. This is especially important when you consider the uniqueness of southern African coal.”

He agreed with Perry that there didn’t have to be a choice between growth and the environment.

“I am passionate about clean air, conservation and all those issues that some activists seem to believe run counter to anything using coal. Sadly, the critics often live in a bubble of privilege in wealthy nations where the grid rarely goes off. They have no idea what it’s like to be poor in an area with no electricity. Africa and India need baseload power at the same level as Europe or the US. And in most countries, that comes from coal or gas.”

The GEI report backs up Bada’s claim. In the Netherlands, 80 per cent of generation comes from fossil fuel. Turkey, Thailand, Norway and South Korea have similar figures.

In 2011, an accident at the Fukushima nuclear project in Japan — caused by an earthquake and tsunami — saw an end to atomic power and the country now relies on coal and gas, both of which need to be imported.

South Africa produces more energy than anywhere else on the continent, 90 per cent of it from coal.

But across the world, a terror attack on a power site could be devastating for even the most developed economies.

At USEA, Barry Worthington said risk was a factor for every part of the planet.

“You’re only as secure as the current you have on-hand,” he said. “It’s not like water where you can build giant reservoirs that guarantee the flow for one or two years, even in a drought. Electricity is difficult to store, so we have to make more all the time. Ironically, the bigger your economy, the more vulnerable you are in a shutdown.”

“We need to diversify our systems,” Dr Bada said. “We need to use solar, wind, hydro from dams and the big hitters like coal and gas. But no country must never take for granted that things can’t go wrong.

“Our world has become so dependent on electricity that we’re all hostage to it. And the challenge is to make more and make it cleanly. Thanks to science, that is growing ever-more doable,” he said.– CAJ News

Professor Rosemary Falcon heads the Clean Coal Research Group at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits.

There, she leads a team of chemists, engineers and other scientists along with 20 masters and doctoral students who say they have proved conclusively that clean coal is not only possible, but among the cheapest ways to generate electricity on a continent where more than 600 million Africans live without power.

“It starts by understanding that each region has a different recipe of minerals,” Dr Falcon said. “If you give me a lump of coal out of Kenya, the US, Europe or China, I can probably tell you where it’s from.”

“An industrial boiler from Europe, fed with South African coal, will melt because our product burns so hot. But we also have more ash that actually absorbs heat making the fire less efficient. So one of the first steps is to alter the coal before you light the fire. Or build a boiler specifically
for each country.”

Her husband, Lionel, a retired engineer, lends his know-how from years in business and industry.

Working with Falcon is Dr Nandi Malumbuzo who took her PhD in chemical engineering at Wits.

“In Africa, the use of coal is growing and that’s something we have to deal with,” she says. “The challenge is to burn it more cleanly and this starts at the mine with techniques we’ve developed to separate poor quality coal from the better stuff that is already less toxic.

“You then crush it and remove elements that will not contribute to a good burn. Like unleaded petrol, you’re starting from a better place. Less ash, less fumes, more heat and a longer burn.

“From there we’ve done experiments and written up peer-reviewed research to show we can use it way cleaner than in most countries, reducing some emissions to zero.”

In Washington, Barry Worthington, director of the United States Energy Association, said the South African research was “vital in the move to a cleaner and better use of coal.”

It was tempting, he said, “to believe the answers always come from Europe or America, when others may be ahead of us in the field.”

Former White House energy advisor, George David Banks, said it was “time to unite” those working on clean coal across all six continents.

“We need to locate the research schools, like this one in Johannesburg, and bring them together,” he said. “The world is not going to stop using fossil fuel any time soon, but we can do it so much better.”

Mr Worthington said he would like to see Prof Falcon and her team on a speaking tour in Washington. “I think people need to hear what’s happening elsewhere,” he said. “The debate has become too political and we need a more objective view.”

But, for all its ground-breaking work, South Africa’s clean-coal is in trouble.

“Funding has been difficult,” said Falcon. “We have to scrape and beg for every cent. We are passionate about the work, and there’s still a lot to do, but the money is not always there.”

The Wits research has also drawn praise from across the continent. Dr Samson Bada from Nigeria has joined the team along with Dr Jacob Masiala from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both are engineers, working on ways to get the lights on in Africa and keep the air clean.

The faculty has post-graduate staff and students from Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique and receives queries from around the world.

“If we mix pulverized coal with bamboo, something that grows well in Africa, we take emissions down even further,” said Dr Masiala. “Of course, a bamboo plantation also gives you carbon credits, and we can grow it on old mine sites to rehabilitate the ground. It’s a winner on so many fronts.”

Falcon has given lectures at prestigious schools like Cambridge University in England, Nandi Malumbuzo has been to Germany, Australia and the Philippines. Bada and Masiala have delivered papers in the US, Norway and
Italy.

The use of coal to generate electricity in Africa is at a record high. South Africa gets more than 90 per cent of its power from coal, in Botswana its 100 per cent, both Kenya and Tanzania are building new coal-fired generators and Zimbabwe is retooling its plant south of Victoria Falls.

Samson Bada has little time for those who condemn this.

“I am so tired of being lectured by people in rich countries who have never lived a day without electricity,” he said. “Maybe they should just go home and turn off their fridge, geyser, their laptops and lights. Then live like that for a month and tell us, who have suffered for years, not to burn coal.”

Jacob Masiala agrees. “Aid groups come to Africa and give out solar lamps the size of a pumpkin,” he said. “But no one in London or Los Angeles would be willing to make do with that as their only source of electricity”

He said the coming revolution in Africa was not about land, religion or politics, but a lack of jobs.

“Don’t tell me that China, Russia and the West should have electricity and black people in Mali or Mozambique should live in huts with light from a solar toy. We need power for factories and to run schools and hospitals.

“Africa is urbanising faster than anywhere on the planet. And our urban youth are on the same Facebook and Whatsapp as kids in Chicago. They watch the same *Big Bang Theory* on TV and have the same aspirations.”

Millions of school leavers, he said, could read and do algebra but had no work. And the lack of industry, he said was linked to electricity.

Dr Bada said he was a fan of wind and solar, but the technology was not yet there to industrialise a continent. “Solar doesn’t work at night, and turbines stand idle when the wind doesn’t blow.

“How do you run an operating theatre with that, let alone a city?”

Other countries, he said, needed a massive jump in the amount of power they generate. “Tanzania, for example, has around 70 per cent of its people still short of electricity while it sits on four billion tons of coal. And still we hear activists from wealthy countries chanting, ‘Leave it in the
ground.’

“Electricity in Africa is not just an ethical issue, it is key to security and growth. And the rich world ignores that at its peril.”

If there is one thing that angers everyone at the faculty, it’s those who say clean coal is a myth.

Dr Falcon said they were either in denial or unaware of the truth. “Tell me there’s no such thing as unleaded petrol or fat-free yoghurt and maybe I’ll hear you out when you chant: ‘There’s no such thing as clean coal.’

“In our lab, we have clean coal, provable, peer-reviewed and with experiments that can be replicated anywhere.”

The science, she said was there. “Clean coal is a reality. And now we must start using it now to make a better world.”– CAJ News